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For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Bradley. I’m a two year old steer now residing at Sage Mountain. I sometimes go by Mr. Bradley or “B”Rad, but mostly Bradley. The truth is, I think I should be called Sir Bradley as I am the new sire, king, alpha, head honcho, maybe some would say “bully” of Sage Mountain. That’s right. I took me a little time to figure out this place, but once I did, watch out. Sorry Wilma Jean. There’s a new sheriff in town and his name is Sheriff Bradley??

My story begins in a similar fashion to my new sheep friends here at Sage. Just like Jesse, Martin, and Sammie, when I was born my mom wasn’t able to take care of me. Being so young and not having a mother was very scary and at the time I didn’t know if I was going to make it. Luckily for me, help came along the way in the form of the great kids at Discovery Ranch in Northern Utah. They fed me, gave me shelter, and cared for me while I got back to health and started growing into a young steer. I was so grateful for all the great people at Discovery Ranch but knew my time there was coming to an end. As some of you may know, in most situations steers like me are taken to the auction and sold off to other ranches or feed lots. After a few months to a year, we are then shipped off to slaughter and become a steak or hamburger. For some reason or another, the kids at the ranch became attached to me and wanted a different fate. I first heard rumors around the ranch that there were plans for me to head to Texas but those plans were scuttled when a horrible hurricane hit and the ranch that I was going to go to was severely damaged and could no longer take me in. Winter was setting in and time was running out because the ranch was making plans for a new group of calves to come in and didn’t have room for me. However, before I knew it, the crew from Sage Mountain in Park City came to rescue me and take me to my forever home in January of 2018.

It’s been almost a month being at Sage Mountain and I’ve had some time to reflect on my prior life. I wish I could have told those great kids that I was no different from the other steers and that we didn’t have to be sold off at auction, that we are all individuals and have emotions such as fear and happiness just like they do, that humans don’t have to eat us and live longer, healthier lives if they didn’t eat animals like us. I wish I could have told them that they can stop this cycle and change this world making it better for humans, the planet and of course the animals. Since I can’t go back to the ranch and tell them directly, I ask you to please spread the word. Please tell those kids, in fact, tell all kids, adults, and anyone that will listen that this idea of humans eating animals like me has to stop. I promise this will be the most powerful message for the future of our planet and our society.

As for me, I will spend my days at Sage Mountain exploring, playing, eating and bossing Wilma and Pony around. Most of all I get to be a steer just like I was meant to do.

http://sagemtn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/vegan-info.jpg458300llockeyhttp://sagemtn.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/SageMountain-HealthPlanetAnimals@2x-720x684.pngllockey2017-08-25 20:30:172017-08-29 19:43:10Brews, Sweets and Treats: The State of the Vegan Food Scene

Sammie’s story begins in the mountains of Northern Utah near Victory Ranch. Sammie was separated from the herd at a very young age and was left to fend for herself throughout the long snowy winter of 2017. One of the local residents named Peggy Grubbs discovered Sammie one day near a snowshoe trail and quickly bonded with her. Over the course of the winter Peggy snowshoed 6 miles every day, many times in knee deep snow, to bring Sammie food so she could make it through winter. When a break in the weather finally arrived in mid February and with help from the local community, Sammie was finally rescued from high mountains and taken to a foster home nearby. For more details on Sammie’s amazing story please click here.

Today Sammie is adjusting to life at Sage Mountain. Her days are filled with grazing and playing with her friends Jesse, Ponyboy, and Wilma Jean. Sometimes Sammie would rather hang out with the pigs in their shelter instead of her own during the heat of the day and couldn’t be happier. Sammie now gets to spend the rest of her life with all the other residents of Sage Mountain where she won’t be alone or ever worry about her next meal.

Sammie has become a wonderful mother figure for Jesse and our other newest arrival, baby Martin. Martin is a young male lamb that has a similar story to Jesse. Martin was born in the spring of 2017 and was part of a grazing herd on the west side of Utah Lake in Utah County. For some reason or another Martin’s mother rejected him and he was left alone on the range without the nourishment he needed to grow into an adult sheep. The same foster family that took in Sammie reached out to the sheep herder and asked if he would be willing to let them adopt Martin. Since Martin was what the industry calls a “bummer” lamb and is of “no use” and has little to no value the sheep herder agreed to the adoption. It is so unfortunate that so many animals are considered worthy only if they can be used by humans in some way for profit. If not, they are often discarded, neglected, or killed.

Since arriving to his permanent home at Sage Mountain, Martin has been learning the ropes and getting along great with all the other animals including Maggie, our German Shepard. It seems as though Maggie understands her job is to protect Martin and she takes great pride in her new role. Martin, just like the rest of the animals at Sage Mountain, will live out the rest of his life and will always be cherished as someone and not something.

Join Sage Mountain: An Advocate for Farmed Animals for an evening of vital conversation and inspiration at EstePizza in Park City! We will be joined by Utah Animal Rights Coalition director and SLC Vegfestorganizer, Amy Meyer who will speak on behalf of the most recent First Amendment victory for farmed animals and update us with exciting news and speakers at this year’s Vegfest! We will also hear from local athlete and yogi, Michelle Sharer about her most recent Plant Powered Challengeand how this experience shifted her entire view on nutrition, health, and well-being. Virtual reality ianimal experiences will be available through our partnership with AnimalEquality Appetizers are being graciously donated by Este pizza. Everyone is responsible for their own pizza and beverages. The event is outside in their courtyard which is absolutely lovely on a summer night. Hope to see you there!

The students at Treasure Mountain Junior High learn about the power of plant-based nutrition

“How many of you think about where your food comes from?” A few students hesitantly raise their hands, most keep them down.

When most of us sit down to eat, about to sink our teeth into a burger, we see a burger, not a dead cow. Behind that seemingly innocent paper-wrapped circular mass of bread, vegetables and condiments, there is a sinister story that everyone who eats food needs to know.

Commuting around the Salt Lake Valley, our plant-based tribe is increasingly aware of an endless parade of livestock trucks, hauling animals to slaughterhouses. My stomach turns and I get nauseous at the sight of these trucks. I want to look away and ignore the problem, but my heart and my eyes look to connect with just one of the souls on board to say “I am sorry.”

Over the course of two days, Sage Mountain’s Lauren Lockey teamed up with local plant-based athlete Craig Gordon and Chris Shapard of the non-profit Factory Farming Awareness Coalition (FFAC) to educate hundreds of students on the benefits of a plant-based diet, and to raise awareness of the consequences and power of their everyday food choices.

The animal products people buy in restaurants and grocery stores have been so transformed that the animals who suffered and died for chicken wings, a hot dog, or slice of cheese, have been completely hidden behind a deceivingly benign image of a picturesque little farm on the package. Happy cows, smiling pigs, fish frolicking in the ocean… brilliant disconnected marketing ploys. What’s not included on those packages is the fact that 99% of animals today are raised on giant factory farms, and that billions of chickens spend their entire lives crammed into a cage with each having less space on average than a standard sheet of paper.

Students gasped when they learned that hundreds of millions of male chicks in the egg industry are ground up alive simply because they don’t produce any eggs and therefore they are of “no use” to the industry. Like most of us, the students didn’t think about the baby cows who are taken away from their mothers so that the baby’s milk can be sold for human consumption, and the billions of animals whose lives were cut drastically short because we have unconsciously prioritized our taste buds over their right to live. This is the story for those raised on small farms, factory farms, humane, cage free, organic, or grass fed.

The presentation also disclosed the immense environmental toll of animal agriculture. To produce a single beef patty, it takes upwards of 660 gallons of water. Animal agriculture is also a leading cause of deforestation, water pollution, and produces more greenhouse gasses than the entire transportation sector – a fact that resonates with all of us here in Utah whose winter wonderland is becoming increasingly threatened by rising temperatures.

The animal products that take such an immense toll on animals and our environment are killing us as well. Animal products cause heart disease, diabetes, and cancer and the students learned that the choices they make now determine their health in the future.

The students learned about about Pony Boy and Wilma Jean (or PB & J), who get to live out their lives in peace at the beautiful Sage Mountain sanctuary.

The good news is that the power is in our hands to fix these problems with the food choices we make everyday – and these students are the ones who will be leading the way. It is our responsibility to educate them and embrace their innate compassion. Even though we covered environment, health, and ethics equally, students were most impacted by the suffering animals endure. They realized they don’t want to be a part of it. We can choose compassion over convenience, health over habit, and sustainability over appetite. When we make the simple choice to eat plant-based foods instead of animal based foods, we are taking a stand for animals, people and our planet. We may not be able to see it, but when we choose plant-based foods, we can unlock the cage for countless other animals just like PB&J.

Please continue to follow Sage Mountain via Instagram and Facebook for individual interviews of students from Treasure Mountain!

Plant Built is a team of vegan strength athletes that get together to compete at the Naturally Fit Expo in Austin, Texas every year. Our goal is to show the world that a vegan lifestyle is no barrier to being strong or having muscles. The team includes the sports of bodybuilding, powerlifting, olympic lifting, kettlebell, crossfit, and strongman.

Plant Built was founded in the fall of 2012 and started with a group of seasoned and novice physique competitors. It quickly spread to the other strength sports, all with the shared goal of promoting a plant based diet in these sports where eating animal products is widely accepted as the only way to achieve success, and not eating or using animals is seen as counter to these sports.

Utah represents with myself and athlete Kelly Colobella who competes in Powerlifiting and Strongman. Outside of Plant Built, Kelly is on the O-line on a professional women’s football team, the Utah Falcons. I compete in the sports of Powerlifting and Strongman as well, and also Highland Games outside of the Plant Built Team. Powerlifting is the strength sport that tests a person’s one-repetition maximums in the lifts of squat, bench, and deadlift. Each competitor is given three attempts at each lift, competitors choose their own weight but try to do the most weight possible. Lifts are strictly judged and proper form and depth is required. Strongman is a strength sport that involves lifting, carrying, or pulling odd objects and weights in a variety of fun and challenging events. The more famous Strongman events include the Atlas Stones, Yoke Walk, Farmers Carry, Axle Deadlift or Axle Pressing, and many more.

This team has made vegans a formidable presence at the Naturally Fit Expo. It has been a huge launching point for vegan outreach and the chance to change opinions and beliefs through engaging in these sports and fitness events.

Sage Mountain is lucky to have Crystal as part of our team! We are SO amazed by Plant Built’s efforts and drive to show that Plant-Powered People are remarkably strong and compassionate, too! Keep it up, Team Plant Built!

http://sagemtn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/556679_229041307234932_1328105793_n.jpg540960http://sagemtn.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/SageMountain-HealthPlanetAnimals@2x-720x684.png2017-02-28 20:54:202017-02-28 20:54:20Plant Built Team